At Risk (Rosina Sinigur)

Title:At Risk
Author: Alice Hoffman
Publisher:The Berkley Publishing Group
Pages:275
Where did you find the book?
I found this book in our school library and checked it out because someone recommended it to me and said that it was very good.
Brief summary of the book:
At Risk by Alice Hoffman is the story of an American family living in a small New England town.Polly and Ivan Farrell have two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy,Charlie,is eight and interested in science. The girl ,Amanda, is eleven and a inspiring gymnast. Their lives change dramatically when the little girl is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS due to a blood transfusion that took place 5 years earlier after appendectomy. When she gets diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS her family draws out on every bit of courage as their lives are torn apart,which leads to them discovering how deep their love is for each other. The condition affects those close to the Farrells like their friends and family. This book talks about everything that the AIDS/HIV patient goes through. The family struggles and begins to dissolve but finally reconnects by the end.The message in this book was that AIDS does not only affect oneonesalth,but also their entire mental,physical, and emotional state of well being.The book ends very with Amanda writing out wills and leaving to go to the hospital.
Who is the audience for this book?
This book is geared towards anyone because it talks about family and that family consists of the parents and children,all of different ages so anyone would enjoy this book.
What is the author's writing style?
The author's writing style is very direct and clear. There is a lot of description explaining what the patient goes through along with her family. The descriptions make the reader get perfect examples of imagery.The author writes the book a way in which the reader will never want to put the book down.
"Linda sits down on a bench, reaches into her jacket pocket,an pulls out rubber bands,a spider ring that belongs to her son,and her cigarettes" (Hoffman 158).
3 passages that struck me in some way:
"In the morning, no one has to wake Charlie or call him for breakfast. He's dressed and ready by eight,and he's one of the first inside the museum of Natural History. It's nice and cold in the museum, and Charlie's breath fogs up the glass as he peers into cases of fossils"( Hoffman 76).
This passage struck me because it relates to Charlie liking science.He cares about science and loves it and so no one even has to force him to go to the museum.He gets up and goes himself without being forced. Even better this is the only reason for why he visits his grandparents house.He visits them after he visits the museum since they live two blocks away.
"Amanda looks at him hard. Her mouth is dry.In the past he has criticized her when she's messed up,but she knows she's doing a good job only when he doesn't comment at all.He has never actually said anything positive"( Hoffman 129).
This passage struck me because it shows how friends and family treated her differently after they found out about her illness. She didn't like being treated differently. She wanted to be treated the same and she wanted everyone to act like nothing had happened to her.I feel like she is not the only one who is treated differently,her brother is treated differently by his friends too because of his sister's illness.
"Charlie gets off his bike and crouches down next to it.No matter what, there will be two kids in their family.Even if everything she owned is thrown away,even if her closets are empty,her room will always belong to her,and whenever he's asked,at school or by a stranger he meets,he'll always say,"I have one sister,Amanda," because he always will"
(Hoffman 273).
This passage struck me because it shows how much Amanda's brother loves her and that he will never forget about her.He will always be by her side if she needs him even though he gets treated worse ever since his sister got HIV/AIDS.No matter what he will never forget about her.
How I interacted with this book:
After reading this book, I realized how much a illness affects a person not just physically but mentally and emotionally. Family members realize how much they are in need for one another and how much they love each other only after something happens to one of them.In this book the Farrells realized how much they loved each other after Amanda got HIV/AIDS.I related to this book because it had to do with family. This book was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone.The author did a great job of making you feel like you were there when this happened.A very sad and depressing book but at the same time very interesting.